1. Field of the invention
The invention concerns a temperature-controlled electronic circuit.
2. Description of the prior art
As described in the "Space Technology Course" ("The Technology of Scientific Experiments in Space"; "The Environment of Experiments on the Orbital Vehicle" by P. Mauroy; CNES, 1981), electronic equipment on satellites can operate without risk of destruction only under appropriate temperature conditions, both in operation and in storage.
These conditions are more difficult to comply with if the electronic equipment is mounted outside the satellite, for example on an arm. In the case of eclipses of long duration it is necessary to keep the temperature of the equipment above a given limit to ensure the survival of the electronic components.
The passive thermal control means usually employed, as described in the "Space Technology Course" (1981; "The Technology of Experiments in Space", CNES; "Thermal Control of Experiments in Space" by A. Rolfo), (such as coatings of various kinds, multi-layer insulative materials, etc) are sometimes inadequate in the case of high received energy variations. It is then necessary to use active thermal control means to dissipate a variable quantity of power inside the equipment concerned.
It is known to bond to the module to be controlled flexible resistive films dissipating the necessary additional power. This solution is not applicable to highly integrated hybrid circuits, however.
An object of the invention is to overcome this thermal control problem.